


Not That You'd Know

by Eupraxia (starfireone3)



Series: Dear Mr. Man [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Baltimore, Fighting, Gen, Police Brutality, Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2015-05-19
Packaged: 2018-03-31 06:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3967531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starfireone3/pseuds/Eupraxia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nursey has a lot of feelings about Baltimore. And he hasn't shared them and then Dex comes in and he doesn't get it. Those two were never great at communicating with each other anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not That You'd Know

Nursey was sitting on the awful green couch when Dex came in and plopped down besides him. Dex glanced at the TV.

“You’re watching the news?” Dex raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t seem very chill.”

“Shuddup, Dex.” Nursey mumbled eyes still intent on the screen. It was news about Baltimore masses of angry people pouring across the screen, some with signs. In the background you could hear the sound of breaking glass.

“Why are you watching this shit it’s just a bunch of—”

Nursey cut him off. “Watch your mouth, Dex.”

Dex cut his eyes at Nursey and continued, “—people destroying property because they refuse to go through the proper channels to get stuff done. The police will handle it.”

“The police will handle it?” Nursey scoffed. “The police will handle it!” He let out a diresive laugh. “It’s the police that are the problem. They arrested a young man with no cause and severed his spine. He’s dead and nothing was done.”

“I’m sure there’s an explanation.” Dex tried to be reasonable.

“Yeah, and that explanation is that if he was a white guy, they’d all be in jail right now!”

“That’s not true!”

“The truth is that all those people are scared and angry because black lives are expendable in this country! People are tired and hungry and desperate because after years of living in a racist system that left their neighborhoods in economic shambles they see even their right to their lives slipping away and you will never understand that!”

Dex blinked at Nursey oddly calm, “Neither will you.” Nursey froze, unsure of what to say or do. “Like you’ve ever been really hungry, desperate, or lived in a place that was in ‘economic shambles’. If you have a problem with the police you like every other rich son of a bitch at this school could pay your way out of it!”

“I can’t pay my way out of a problem with the police if I’m dead, you fucktard!” Nursey reached out and grabbed Dex and shook him, like maybe it would get it through his head if it got rattled around some. “They’ll see I’m black and they’ll shoot, or they’ll see I’m black and they’ll punch me in the mouth when I try to “talk back”, or they’ll see me, see my clothes and shoes and know I have money but see I’m black and assume that money is from drugs and not listen to a word I say otherwise. Might even plant some on me to ‘prove’ what they know is true, or they’ll see I’m black and I’ll commit suicide in custody shooting myself in the head with my hands cuffed behind my back. No matter what those New Black fuckers tell you, YOU CAN’T BUY YOUR WAY OUT OF RACISM.”

Dex looked stunned he wasn’t sure how to reply a lot had been dumped in his lap at once. When a rebuttal was about to make it’s way past his lips. He couldn’t because someone else was speaking.

“Dex, you should leave. When you get home look at unpacking the invisible knapsack. I’ll ask questions about it to make sure you did. I’ll make sure Nursey see a class privilege version when he’s calmer.” Ransom ordered from the stairs. He looked tense but despite the no questions allowed tone of his voice he sounded kind, but very, very tired.

“Um, yeah, yeah, I’ll be going.” He looked at Nursey, who might have been, Dex looked closer and yes, yes he was shaking. “Shit, I’m sorry, Nurse, I didn’t mean…” He sucked in a breath. “Yeah, I’ll be going.”

 

“Come on, bro,” Dex could hear Ransom talking to Nursey as he left the room. “I think we need to go to the protest this time.”

  
“I think you’re right.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Waited to write and post this until things had calmed down some. 
> 
> Dex isn't meant to be a bad guy this. He doesn't get were Nursey's coming from (and Nursey obviously doesn't get where he's coming from). There are a lot of non-black people who don't get what went on and Dex is one of them.


End file.
